Sheriff's deputies will be stationed at several schools across the Finger Lakes region Friday morning after another social media threat and rumor of violence at schools forced leaders to take action.
From Hilton to Webster, to Rochester and LeRoy, several districts sent messages home to parents about the latest TikTok threat: "National Shoot Up Your School Day," which threatens shootings, bombings and other violence at schools on Friday.
The districts say this is a national threat, and not specific to any school in the area.
School officials in states including Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Montana, New York and Pennsylvania said Thursday there would be an increased police presence because of the threats.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office and local police departments say they are aware of the messages and say there will be increased security at schools Friday.
"The Monroe County Sheriff's Office was made aware of this social media activity, and out of abundance of caution, they will be providing an increased presence at our schools and at other districts around the county on Dec. 17," Hilton Central School District said in statement Thursday. "Working together to ensure the safety of our students and staff is our most effective approach."
All the districts are encouraging parents to monitor their children's social media and tell students to come forward if they see or hear something.
This is the latest TikTok challenge disrupting schools. Previous messages encouraged students to steal or damage school bathrooms. Even locally, some students took out toilet seats and ripped soap dispensers off the wall.
"We handle even rumored threats with utmost seriousness, which is why we're working with law enforcement to look into warnings about potential violence at schools even though we have not found evidence of such threats originating or spreading via TikTok," TikTok said in a statement on Twitter.